Page 121 of Night's Fall
He nodded glumly. “Maybethey wanted her attention.Maybethey were jealous of me becauseIhad it or thatIwould be king.Maybethey were always just assholes.Butthey fucked with me.Allthe time.”
I knewIdidn’t like those guys.
“How did they do that?”
He shrugged. “Youname it, they did it.Throwingice water on me in the middle of the night whenIwas dead asleep.Whenwe were standing as royals during a public appearance, pinching the skin on the back of my arms, which hurts like fuck, butIcouldn’t make a face or do anything.Stealingmy homework.TellinggirlsIliked them whenIdidn’t.WhenIwas still quite young, getting into luggage the staff had packed when we’d go on trips and taking out my underwear soIdidn’t have any, and thenI’dhave to admit it to someone, which was embarrassing at that age.”
Oh yeah.
Really didn’t like them.
Aleksei kept sharing.
“Being atRedLairwas an escape from them.BeingatRedLair, they’ve had over a thousand years of finding ways to uncover what boys will turn into men, and what boys will always be boys, and then cultivating all manner of exercises to cull the wheat from the chaff.”
“You were the wheat,”Istated firmly.
He tipped his head to the side, his eyes warming at my words, and he shared, “BothTimandRolwent toRedLairatMom’sinsistence.Timwas kicked out within six months, no matter he was a prince of this realm.Rollasted a year and a half before he was booted.”
“But you thrived.”
He shrugged again and ate a piece of succulent beef. “Ifound my place.Perhapsit wasMom’sinfluence, perhaps it was becauseIknew from the momentIcould form coherent thoughtIwas destined for the throne, butIwas always serious.Thereare two things that happen atRedLair.Oneis that they have ways to be certain who remains is supposed to remain.Theother is the boys find ways to get out if they don’t want to be there.I’veknown some who were smart enough to best the studies, physically and mentally capable enough to excel at the drills and exercises.Andthey still found ways to get expelled.Thechallenge of an advanced curriculum coupled with the physical challenge spoke to me.Itwas somethingIunderstood integrally.Iwas in my place.Mybrothers were just notRedLairmales.”
“ButIsense your brothers were culled, they didn’t find ways to get expelled,”Inoted.
“Tim was culled.Roltried, but he just wasn’t smart enough and couldn’t endure the physicality of it.”
“So…what?Theyjust never grew up?”
“I haven’t yet explained about our beasts.”
Ah.
“I’ve seenAleece’s,”Itold him. “She’sfierce, but so beautiful.”
And she was.Pearly-white scales with gold horns and claws, feathered rather than webbed wings and blue topaz eyes.
Stunning.
Unusually, thoughI’dnever thought about it before, since the royal family occasionally featured their dragons during special events,Ihad not seen either of the princes transformed.
I wasn’t very interested in them, soIdidn’t think about it much.I’djust always thought, through some trick of genetics (QueenCalisa’sbeast, it was known, was a red fox), meant their beasts weren’t dragons.
“They aren’t what you’d think, considering their personalities.Weare all the blood of the firstTrueHeir.I’mnot sure there’s been a royal dragon that could not do its part in defending the throne.”
So theyweredragons.
“Okay, soIdon’t get it.”
“When did yours first come out?” he asked.
“WhenIwas five.”
He nodded. “Betweenfour and seven, usually.Tim’sdidn’t come out until he was nine.Rol’scame out at seven.Timhad a complex about his late transformation, andIthink that was why he transformed all the time once his beast appeared.Butour creatures used to tussle.Play.”
“And yours always won,”Ipresumed.
He shook his head, but said, “Asyou know, we don’t always have complete control over them, especially when we’re younger.Soyes, mine bested theirs.Itwas bigger, always.AndIwas older, also always.Andmine was with me when they’d fuck with me, and he didn’t like that, so perhaps he took it too far occasionally.”
